Maximilian Schell

Born on Dec. 8, 1930 in Vienna, Austria, Schell was raised in an artistic household by his father, Hermann, a writer and poet, and his mother, Maria, an actress. Schell's family fled Austria in 1938 around the time of Nazi occupation and took up residence in Zurich, Switzerland. After serving in the Swiss Army and reaching the rank of corporal, he studied art history at universities in Zurich, Munich and Basel. In 1953, Schell began his acting career at the Basel Theater and moved on to theaters in Bonn, Essen and Berlin, among others. He made his onscreen debut in the German-made "Children, Mother and the General" (1955), Laslo Benedek's maudlin look at the futility of war during the last d... Continue Bio >>